Chester Road/Walton Road/Ellesmere Road

[Peter T]

PERHAPS Miss Smartie, it is something to do with your hidden railway.

[Dizzy]

Oh what an interesting life you lead Dizzy

You may have a point there Asp Perhaps I need to get out a bit more or get a proper job

 

Do you think anyone would employ me... fully 'qualified' in all aspects of computer use (excluding wireless connections ) with a strong interest in s***e

[Dizzy]

PERHAPS Miss Smartie, it is something to do with your hidden railway.

 

Peter... you clearly have no idea what you are talking about as the railway was not there in the early 1900's Thought you were into local history

 

By the way calling me Miss Smartie will only make me worse and you wont win

[Peter T]

I got your attention though.

[Dizzy]

Nah... you were just there and I was bored

 

Anyway thread well and trully gone of topic now.... but the issue of the junctions and traffic problems near the stag etc is now being looked into by a chap called David Boyer (senior transport bod at WBC) Hello to him if he is reading

 

As for the obelisk structure... I wont rest until I find out as it doesn't look like any of the victorian sewer vent pictures I've found so far... they all look more like metal fancy lamp posts

[Peter T]

What happened to that elderly near neighbour? Can't he shed some light on it?

[Quecumber]

Fancy finding this thread on here as well as on Warrington Guardian's forum!

I have seen a number of (very) 'near misses' as well as a number of accidents at these particular junctions, and agree that the new housing estate will only add to capacity (how on earth any car will be able to turn right out of there I just don't know). I, too, drove past the bang the other Sunday. A few weeks ago a motorcyclist was involved in a bash so much more potential for injury.

I slow down an awful lot as I drive past these junctions in the morning but cars have jumped out in front of me from Walton New Road and Ellesmere Road - to be honest, the drivers really have no choice but to try and chance it in the middle lane - both of which are meant for cars turning IN with no option for cars turning OUT.

Hence the catastrophe.

I wonder how much it is costing us in policing, fire service, highways agency, medical services as well as the trauma for the people; and I wonder how much this compares to the cost of putting in some real traffic control or at least some alternative road painting and signage for a start.

[robocop]

Fancy finding this thread on here as well as on Warrington Guardian's forum!

There is life on the other side!

[algy]

for anyone that can't remember where the toilets were situated or are too young to remember (Dizzy) I have uploaded an RAF aerial view taken between 1940 & 45 showing the location unfortunately it's the best I can do as although I was brought up in Lower Walton in the 1950s' I never had the inclination to take a photo of those toilets and I must admit I can't say I regret not doing so as I can't help but think that if I had I may have received some stick from you folks out there.

http://www.mediafire.com/i/?v18c5gw1jdj5gks

[Dizzy]

You most certainly would have got some stick Algy

[Pedro]

A bit off thread and belated but while watching Gary's beloved Warrington Town in FA Cup yesterday (and taking 5 and 3 year old grandsons to first ever match!) I got into conversation with a Town supporter from Bolton who had lived in Walton for many years after "being bombed out of Liverpool during the war". Turns out he had lived over the Shop on Ellesmere Road where the Spar Shop now stands. Asked him about the brick obilisk visible on the old Ellesmere Road pic and it turns out to have been a photographic deception. The structure was on the North side of the Ship Canal and stood for many years where the Coopers Sand Plant was. As so often is the case a camera can lie.

[Pedro]

I now see the brick tower/obilisk is on algy's war time RAF photo and it is the angle of Ellesmere Road which makes it appear to have been on Ellesmere Road when in reality it was on North side of the cut - any ideas as to what purpose it served ?

[algy]

Don't take this as gospel but as I remember these towers were always built where swing bridges were located and provided a head of water pressure to provide hydraulic pressure to operate the equipment to work the machinery to swing the bridges.

[Pedro]

You are probably right Algy, although the tower stood a bit away from the Stag bridge. There is a similar tower by the Moore Lane swing bridge - this one appeared in the film 'Yanks' along with local farmer, the late Percy Leah, and some of his sheep as extras.

[algy]

Bye jove Pedro there's the name of a ghost from the past, Percy was a rum character, I lived in Baronet Rd and along with other local lads Percy was always chasing us off his land on the far side of the twelve arches. I served my time at the smithy at Daresbury and remember Percy's son coming to the smithy to buy implements of some description and he was driving a brand new black Austin Atlantic drop head coupe must say I was very envious, so there must have been plenty of money in sheep farming in those days. If your a local lad Pedro perhaps we may know one and other.

[Dizzy]

....... the brick obilisk visible on the old Ellesmere Road pic and it turns out to have been a photographic deception. The structure was on the North side of the Ship Canal and stood for many years where the Coopers Sand Plant was. As so often is the case a camera can lie.

 

 

Small world eh and fancy you talking to someone at a footy match who lived above the old shop and Algy remembering Percy the farmer.

 

Anyway as much as I'd like to take this as the answer and I agree that photos can be deceptive I just cant see the obelisk being on the North side of the Ship Canal. I've zoomed in on the old photo and it really does look like it is standing next to the end house.

 

It's reall bugging me now.

 

Has anyone got any idea of the date of the old Ellesmere Road photo ??

 

Also I looked at Algy's RAF picture but I can't see the obelisk on it. I also went on Google earth and cant see the similar tower near Moor Lane Bridge ... can I borrow your glasses

[algy]

Dizzy I have uploaded an aerial photo of Moore Lane swing bridge taken in the 1970s' and it clearly shows the pyramid top of the tower, look above left of the open bridge you can also see a shadow of the column, I would be interested to know if anyone recognises the ship sailing up to Manchester.

http://www.mediafire.com/i/?2pz8o262kxwai17

[Dizzy]

Thanks Algy but isn't that the controllers station (ie the bit where the man who turned the bridge sat? The top of the one at Stockton Heath looks the same on google earth but is not the same as the obelisk when you take a closer look.

 

Hard to tell from your photo so sorry to ask... I may have a drive upto more at weekend and have a closer look.

 

Also... why would they have such a tower further up the canal rather than right next to the Walton sing bridge (think that question has already been asked though )

[Pedro]

Algy, did you work for Colin Dale at the Daresbury Smithy ?? Maybe you had a hand in making the Alice weathervane on the School ? It features on cover of the Shire book on weather vanes. Sorry Dizzy really am off the plot here - will try and get more onfo on the oblisk mystery!

[Dizzy]

No need to appologise to me..... Im always going off at a tangent

[algy]

Pedro yes I served my time there from 1955 to 1961 and no I did not have a hand in making the Alice weathervane although at that time it's home was attachesd to the smithy chimney and as the junior apprentice when I first started I used to have to climb up the slate roof, remove the vane bring it down and replace it after I had painted it, I believe Colin Dale gave it to the school when he retired. Today due to present H & S regs a scaffold would have to have been errected for access, sad isn't it.

Dizzy save your petrol money two more pics on Mediafire:-

http://www.mediafire.com/i/?uc8kr1b7ixmho4z

http://www.mediafire.com/i/?q0h4ccpk61ro3fn

I don't think every bridge had a tower, now this is just my idea but I'm sure that where the water pressure was not strong enough to work the hydraulic machinery that turned the bridge the towers would have been built to hold a large water head tank at the top to enable gravity to provide sufficient pressure to do the job.

[Dizzy]

Wish I'd have read your post and seen your pics before I spent ages looking at bridges on the internet Well as I found what I was looking for I'm going to upload it anyway

 

Moore Swing bridge 'obelisk' (but not as good as Algys pic)

 

 

 

So it seems you were all right and I wouldn't believe you... sorry.

 

But why would Walton swing bridges tower be so far away from the actual bridge? Guess it doesn't really matter though eh

[algy]

Given more thought regarding the brick water tower by the 'Stag Inn' I am now almost convinced that the tower may have served both the Chester Rd & Northwich Rd swing bridges as it is almost halfway between the two, the chap who lived over Dwerryhouse's shop and remembered it being by Coopers Sand quarry got me thinking that maybe it appeared on the 1940 RAF aerial map and 'bingo' there it is shadow included, I have taken a screenshot and magnified it and have placed a small 'x' over the top of the tower to the top right of the picture, regarding the tower being a distance from the Stag bridge the tower that was outside the canal workshops by the locks was also a fair distance from the Knutsford Rd swing bridge and was the tower that I didn't know what it supplied but now I'm 99% certain that they are all water supply head tanks for the bridges.

http://www.mediafire.com/i/?2qwc4yrvp0plbuw

[Dizzy]

Saw that on your photo but thought it was the old Cement Works building that used to stand on the peninsula of the locks (ie at the bottom of Greenalls Ave.) Did that used to be Coopers Sand Quarry ??

 

Anyway I just overlayed and merged a google image from 2005 with your image and the the two structures are in different places

 

So after all that I am 99.9 % sure that you are indeed right Algy

 

ps the .1% is that I am not sure how many years the cement works actually stood there for and how many different building structures it had over the years

 

There's no pleasing or convincing women sometimes eh

[algy]

Yes Dizzy that was where Coopers operated from, however unless someone with specialist knowledge regarding the MSC and it's swing bridge machinery comes up with something different I will settle for what we have established here also in all my seventy years I have never come anywhere acheiving a 99.9% success rate with a lady before, speaking purely in the context of this post of course. What we shouldn't do is lose sight of what the original post was about, but hey! I have just realised you were the author so I don't feel to bad about that then.

Cheers

Algy.